An invaluable community service

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“We act as extra ‘eyes and ears’, collecting and reporting intelligence and observations to assist Police and other agencies to build safer communities.”

“Ongoing community support groups like the Karori Community Patrol group are very much valued,” says the Karori Community Constable Jo Heather.

“They know more about what goes on in the areas they reside in and It’s reassuring to know that there is a service such as this that we [the Police] can use and work alongside in our goal to make communities safer.

“We acknowledge all the work they do in this voluntary service – taking time out of their own lives so that people in their community can feel safe.

“It is very much appreciated.

“When people collaborate together to support a community, it is always an uplifting and heartening thing to see and hear about,” Constable Heather says.

“You will see our patrol car and patrollers out most weekends, but it would be great to increase our patrols throughout the week,” Scott says.

“As one of the largest and most populous suburbs in New Zealand, we have a significant area to patrol.”

As well as Karori, the patrol covers M kara, Crofton Downs, Thorndon, Kelburn, Northland, the border of Brooklyn and everything in between.

To do that, the patrol needs more volunteers. Ideally, they need enough people so they can patrol every day of the week.

“Safer communities are achieved when people take an active role in preventing and deterring crime,” Scott says.

“While the focus is on keeping our community safe, at the same time we want our patrollers to have a great time patrolling –learning new skills, making new friends and exploring what our community has to offer.”

The time commitment is not significant. People who can volunteer for four hours a month would be welcome. If they want to, people can also volunteer to serve for longer.

“I’d encourage anyone with some spare time who cares about their community to join the Karori Community Patrol. It’s pretty rewarding work and you will learn a lot,” Scott says.

Contact the Karori Community Patrol Leaders at karori@ cpnz.org.nz to learn more about how you can get involved.

The patrol is also involved in a range of other initiatives.

One is working closely with the Wellington Region Emergency Management Office (WREMO). The patrol can be deployed and actively assist agencies such as WREMO in the event of an earthquake, tsunami, flooding and severe weather etc.

It also becomes involved in traffic control – for example at the Wrights Hill Fortress Open Day’s and the annual Halloween event in Friend St.

The patrol can even become involved in assisting outside the Karori area – for example providing additional people resource in search and rescue operations or missing persons events.

One of the most important roles for the patrol is community engagement.

Patrollers aim to be present at community events such as the Karori Karnival organised by the Lions Club of Karori, Carols in the Park, Meet the Councillors and many more where they can meet and talk with members of the community.

And on top of that, the team is involved in fund-raising – as the community patrol is not funded at all by government or local government, and relies entirely on fund-raising and sponsorship.

“We raise our annual operating expenses through local grants, sponsorship and donations. We have some fantastic sponsors who keep our patrol mobile and active in the community.” Scott says.

“Without our sponsors we wouldn’t be here.”

The sponsors are: Mobil Ka- rori, Mitre 10 Crofton Downs, Karori Auto Services, Karori Business Association, St John’s Trust Op Shop, Rotary Club of Karori, Speedy Signs Wellington, Professionals Wellington City & Suburbs, and Ryman Healthcare.

Karori Residents Association

Chair Andrea Skews says she feels “very excited” to have a visible new patrol car out in the community.

“It is imperativefor the community to volunteer and get involved in order for the patrol to be out on the road every day, she says

“If we have 30 sets of two patrollers then the vehicle would be out every single day, and with a population of approximately 6,000 people, this should be easily achievable.”

In 2018 the Karori Residents Association, Western Ward City Councillor Simon Woolf and local resident Bryce McClure started working on a project to restart the community patrols after the Karori community had identified areas of concern around the need for local crime prevention.

“The new patrol team has worked very hard to achieve accreditation and has raised sponsorship from local businesses and organisations to fund a dedicated patrol vehicle with signage, uniforms and equipment,” Ms Skews says.